The price of diamonds has undergone an increase “of the order of about thirty percent”, declared Alain Némarq, CEO of Mauboussin, Monday February 13 on franceinfo. The reason comes from the fact, he explains, that sources of supply have become scarce “because Russia was in quotes boycotted. So we lost 40% of the world’s diamond supply.” Consequence of this situation: “When you thin the market, obviously prices go up.”
And the price of diamonds is not the only increase suffered by the French jeweler who also acknowledges having suffered a “increase in labor costs, in particular due to energy”. As a result, the prices of jewelry sold to customers have also increased: “Over 18 months, we had to increase our selling prices by around 15%. Our manufacturing costs increased by more than 20%.”
The price of jewelry will continue to rise
Faced with this situation, Alain Némarq claims to have remained “competitive” since “all players in the sector are subject to the same pressures […] So we all increased our prices and I probably remained one of the most competitive on the market and therefore I maintained my market share.“, he explains. Asked if the prices of Mauboussin jewelry will continue to increase this year, the CEO answers: “I think so.”
The jeweler – who remains the only one in France to display the prices of his jewels – confides that “February as a whole represents approximately 12% of annual turnover.” However, even if Valentine’s Day represents an important part of the brand’s sales, other key moments of the year are even more important: “Mother’s Day represents about 15% of sales and between November 15 and December 31 we make 25% of annual turnover.”
“In our stores, we must have around 80% of our sales made with French consumers”, he specifies. And on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, he meets his youngest clientele: “There are a lot of spontaneous purchases from young customers who perhaps buy less jewelry at the beginning of their life. There is a whole fringe of 18-25 year olds more represented in this period than the rest of the year.”
12% of turnover for Valentine’s Day
“Valentine’s Day, we offer a watch, a jewel to say I love you”, says the boss of the French jeweler Mauboussin. And this period represents up to 12% of annual turnover, specifies Alain Némarq. “It’s an important meeting because we are launching new products there and we meet the youngest part of our clientele, 18-25 year olds”, who has been at the head of Mauboussin for twenty years.
Mauboussin accuses an increase in its production costs of around 20% according to Alain Némarq. The price of diamonds in particular has increased. “40% of the world’s diamond supply came from Russia” specifies the CEO of Mauboussin. “We absorbed some of these costs and passed on the rest to our products. They increased by around 15%,” says Alain Némarq.